Within any war, there is an associated information war, and the same holds true of the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Russia is concerned that despite the mess in the Donbas region, the rest of Ukraine is growing steadfast in its opposition to Moscow - and Ukraine's election results bear this out. Moscow therefore hopes to portray this conflict as an unnecessary, unfortunate folly propagated by "neo-nazis, ultra-nationalists, anti-Semites and agents of the West." Even before the vote, the ever more alarming portrayals of Ukrainian actions provided a telling indicator of the Kremlin's designs.
On Oct. 23, Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda reported on a recently leaked video supposedly showing Ukrainian soldiers ready to abandon the front lines: "We wont climb inside any tents any longer! We will leave and head home - they wont be able to capture and prosecute all of us!" In the video, soldiers also complain about living conditions and food shortages on the front lines.
What happens to some of these soldiers when they do return - either legitimately or by desertion? KP's correspondent traveled to Kiev on Oct. 24 to read the mood of the people.
"They no longer romanticize Maidan. Hospitals are filled with boys who hide on the floor because they imagine they are under attack. They are quick to fight over careless words. These crippled youth returned to nowhere - no jobs, miniscule pensions..."
The same reporter spoke with Ukrainian journalists who sounded off on the war:
"First off, people in Kiev changed completely. It looks like the junta reprogrammed most Kievan citizens. People are ready to report you to the authorities for what they perceive are alternative points of view on the war. What you end up with is an alternative universe - without Russia, the Great Patriotic War (WWII), Russians - all that remains is Ukraine that is fighting for its freedom for many centuries..."
These are the expressions that prevail across Russian media as Moscow seeks to paint the war as Kiev's tragic mistake. Unfortunately, events may have already entrenched an emotional, divisive new code of conduct. KP's conversation with an ethnic Russia refugee from Donbas spells out the lasting damage.
"Anyone who fled immediately probably wont return - they will be perceived as strangers ... Russian people probably have some internal mechanism that has been activated. They now the world as "us" and "them." And you can no longer stop it."